tlaero wrote:
Did the "reach, rub, retract" add to the game? Detract from it? Not really matter one way or the other? Where you thinking, "Wow, that's really cool, I wish they did more of that"? Or was it, "Waiting for these animations is a waste of my time, I wish they didn't do them?" Or somewhere in between? Should Mortze and I be thinking of ways to do more of this kind of thing, or should we stick with the older ways?
Well, for me it seemed to disrupt the flow of the game a bit. I guess that's strange because I do think that these kinds of mechanisms can make a game more engrossing, but I guess that I was comfortable with the format all through it, and then it seemed out of place that suddenly it got interactive. I think if you were only going to use it once, it would make sense to put it into a sex scene that has a context most consistent with the interactivity. So yeah, I think it may have worked better with the BJ scene if the player decides to try out the more aggressive style Jess says that she likes as well. Here, the character is offering to give over control, and then if the player suddenly gets that greater control, it would really fit.
We've discussed it a lot, and I'm afraid I don't have anything new to offer. I can't remember the game but once I was playing a game, maybe of Leonizers before I ever worked with him, and the mouse movement was easy, was right on the motion of the sex act, and the frames seemed to move perfectly through the animation in synch with the mouse. And I really felt like I was fucking her, as lame, or whatever, as that sounds. But I don't think I've ever been as engrossed since that time, so it may have more to do with some kind of strange mood I was in than with how well the mechanism was executed (no, I am positive that I was not drunk or high). So the perfect mechanism to my preference is definitely elusive. I didn't find the click and hold to be that engaging because it still seemed static. I do like examining the image closely (Mortze's images, hell yeah!) to find the hotspot to click, but in this case they were not made to be hard to find, and the pop-up choice that appeared when you found it tended to distract from the subject. This is all just meant to be helpful thoughts, of course, It is very minor criticism because it had no negative affect on me, rather, it was one aspect of the game that I thought was only fantastic when there was so much that was crazy-fucking fantastic.
I guess I'll offer one idea that I guess could make that specific kind of interaction better: Throughout the game it's point and click, and sometimes find a less obvious hotspot and click. I notice that the frame changes color when there is a hotspot to find. I wonder if instead, the cursor could change to a little magnifying glass when it's on the image, as a hint to find. Then, in a scene where you are caressing her body, the narrator says to find the right spots and as the cursor passes over them it turns from magnifying glass to a mini hand or something, and then you click, you get the boob-fondling animation and the cursor disappears until you release and the scene moves on, or you find the next hotspot. I guess this is like a hybrid of Shark, Leo, and what you've done, and not really any kind of new idea. But I don't mean to hide the hotspots as a way to make the game challenging, I mean just hide them enough that the player has to concentrate on what they are looking at, and then give them choices that have different points associated with them just like the same mechanic for non-sex scenes. Player can say something romantic, say something kinky, twist a nipple, or caress a thigh, and the choice has consequences, and the options are fun to find.
Looking forward to a second play through tonight!
With high regard,
iksanabot